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90’s Precursor To Nu Metal: Biohazard, Helmet

Helmet never played by the metal rule book. They dressed in simple t-shirts, sneakers, and had short hair. Their guitars always sounded a little distorted and they liked it that way. The New York Times called them “smart rockers”, but they helped set the stage for a change in metal in the mid-90’s Signed to Interscope Records for a huge signing bonus, big things were expected but Helmet never lived up to the hype. The NYC rockers scored big with “Unsung” as their debut album sold 2 million copies.

“PUNISHMENT” BIOHAZARD

Recipe: 2 parts hardcore punk, a big heaping spoonful of heavy metal, and 3 sprinkles of hip hop. Biohazard was one of the key 90’s metal bands that shared a fascination with rap music and helped set the foundation for the Nu Metal scene that followed shortly there after. “Punishment” is from their debut CD. Some questioned if the band was racist or into white supremacist views. Jewish lead singer, Evan Seinfeld, shot down those comments and their collaborations with NYC rappers, Onyx, were landmark 90’s mixing of hardcore and rap.